Sunday, September 6, 2009

I love The Pioneer Woman. For those who have never heard of her (are there really people out there who have never heard of her?!), her name is Ree and here is how she describes herself:

"I’m a thirty-something ranch wife, mother of four, moderately-agoraphobic middle child who grew up on a golf course in the city. I attended college in Los Angeles and wore black pumps to work every day. I ate sushi and treated myself to pedicures on a semi-regular basis. I even kissed James Garner in an elevator once. Then, on a brief trip to my hometown, I met and fell in love with a rugged cattle rancher. Now I live in the middle of nowhere on a working cattle ranch. My days are spent wrangling children, chipping dried manure from boots, washing jeans, and frying calf nuts. I have no idea how I got here…but you know what? I love it. Don’t tell anyone."

The Pioneer Woman website is wonderful. It is full of humor, recipes, beautiful photos and stories of life on a cattle ranch that will leave you smiling and wanting more. Her reader base is incredible and once you check out the website, you will know why.

Today I saw that there is a new website called Tasty Kitchen. It is a site where all of Ree's readers can submit their own very favorite recipes. You can search for a specific recipe, or browse by category. I looked though a few and boy do they look good!

Ree also has a cookbook that will be released in October and you can check it outhere.

BK started Pre-K this year. She goes three half-days a week. Two weeks have passed and she is still as excited to go every morning as she was the first.

On Tuesdays they alternate going to Music one week and Computer Class the next. On Wednesdays, she is enrolled in an extra-curricular activity, TOT Basketball. On Thursdays, they go into "big church" and worship. Every day brings a new adventure.

Her teacher is a very sweet lady, who turns out to be a friend of a friend...it is truly a small world. BK is already crazy about her and she is making new friends.

A friend asked for frugal advice for a friend of hers who wants to be able to quit work and be a stay-home mom. I wrote some things for her and decided to share it here.

~My strategy on groceries is to stockpile when on sale, preferably with coupons (however, oftentimes store brands are just as good and are cheaper even without a coupon). I keep up with the prices and when there is a good sale, I stock up on those items, then the next time there is a sale, I stock up on the sale items that week (for stuff I know weuse all the time). Using this method, eventually I don't have to buy much of anything unless it's on sales, because stores generally put about the same items on sale in a predictable cycle.

~Cut down on eating out. When you do eat out, use coupons or even go to www.restaurant.com and buy gift certificates cheap (they put them on sale for 80% off), so you can have a $35 meal and pay $10 for it. If you are married, or have kids, share meals. Always get a to-go box and take leftovers to eat for another meal.

~If you take over -the-counter meds regularly, check out www.cvs.com to sign up for their online ordering sale emails. I take Prilosec every day and the generic is just as good. Sometimes at cvs.com they put all their CVS brand items on sale for 50% off. If you order $50, you get free shipping, so I stock up on that and allergy meds. Great deals!

~Look around your house and see what you can sell. If you don't love it and haven't used it in a year, get rid of it. Craigslist.com is great for that. I have sold tons of stuff there, mostly BK's clothes and shoes she has outgrown. Better than eBay because you don't have to worry about shipping. Also, when you get ready to buy something, check out Craigslist first.

~Take advantage of the library. You can search your local library system online to see if they have a book (or DVD) you want. If you see it listed at another library, they can order if for you and call when it arrives. If you want to buy books, check out www.amazon.com. They sell used books cheap.

~Look for free or cheap community activities for kids. In Rankin Co. you can go to www.rankinledger.com and click on Plan Ahead to see what's going on.

~Don't be too proud to shop garage sales and thrift stores. I went in the local Goodwill a few weeks ago and found my husband 5 name-brand dress shirts and a pair of dress pants that looked brand new...in fact one still had the original tags on it. The total was going to be about $20, but when I got to the register, she said that adult clothes were 50% off that day...so I walked out paying $11 and change for all that. I was a happy camper. I have found BK lots of cute clothes there too.

~Plan your menus ahead...a week...two weeks...or even all month. Make a list of meals that your family likes. Print out a blank calendar and fill in the meals. Plan to use leftovers creatively too. Have breakfast one night a week...even if you use a whole dozen eggs, that's usually under $1.50. Plan a meatless night too. There are great recipes out there.

~Cooking ahead and freezing helps for busy days...you know, those days when you would normally go thru the drive-thru because you don't have time to cook. The easiest way is to double or even triple your fav recipes and freeze the extras. Label them and make a list of what you have in your freezer so you won't forget. Plan your menus around what is on sale. You can even make a game of it...see if you can make dinner for under $5. Yes, it can be done. Check out www.5dollardinners.com for recipes and great ideas.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

My son Jeremy told me this morning that I need to blog. I have been having serious writers block for a while now. Not because I don't have anything to say...quite the opposite. But rather because I try to keep my posts positive for the most part...and unfortunately these days I'm not feeling very positive.

I have decided to just go ahead and write about some things that are bugging me and then maybe that will clear the air to move on to better things. So here they are, in no particular order:

~The President is planning to speak to students at school next Tuesday. I, along with many other concerned citizens, have a problem with this. If the President has a burning desire to speak to the children of this country, then he should do so in the evening when their parents can be present. If I had a child in a public school that is planning to show this speech, they would be staying home that day.

~It was announced this week that the Duggar family are expecting their 19th child. While I know that I would not be an effective parent for that many children, apparently the Duggars have a God-given desire to accept with open arms as many gifts as they are blessed with. Yes, this goes against everything in our society that tells us to have 2.5 children and then stop, but it seems to be working for them. As far as I know, they are not taking any form of public assistance, so it amazes me how many people are so negative about their extra-large family. I read where someone this week called them freaks. The bigger outrage should be for the countless women who have multiple abortions. Why is that okay in so many people's eyes, when large families are not? Makes you think, doesn't it?

~Facebook is my favorite social networking site these days. It enables folks to stay in touch, even if they live far away...or just across town. I also think it's a great place to throw out topics for discussion. It is interesting to me to hear what others think and to get a chance to post my own opinions as well. Some people are intimidated by this process and become upset if others don't agree with their point of view. This week I had a comment deleted because the person didn't like what I said about the President, I guess. Debate is a good and healthy thing, as long as all are respectful of one another.

~Another note about Facebook...folks need to remember that even though they might be close enough to family and friends to be able to tease them in real life, comments made on Facebook can be hurtful and embarrassing...much akin to public humiliation in many cases, especially since all of both people's friends can read the comments.

~Since when, in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech, does it make us "right-wing terrorists" if we dare to speak against the President's radical agenda? This is still America, right?

~The last thing that I want to mention is that customer service stinks in most places these days. Case in point: I just got home from doing some errands and while I was out, I ran by Krystal. The woman at the window was in a bad mood and argued with the man ahead of me, so he drove off without getting his food. After I got my food and drove off, I realized that my Coke was not a Coke...or either their machine is messed up...in either case, I couldn't drink it. I drove back and went inside. After telling them that I just wanted my money back, I had to stand there for the longest time and I observed the young woman behind the counter slamming food in bags. It was obvious that she was in a bad mood too. I pondered asking for the manager, but then she came out to give me my money and fairly threw it across the counter at me, so I didn't think that it would do much good to talk to her about the lack of smiling service.

Another place that gets a zero on friendly service is our local water department. The women who work there look like they have been sucking on sour pickles and they don't even say anything when I go to the drive-thru. No greeting. Take the payment. Process the payment. Drop the receipt in the drive-thru drawer. Walk away. Heaven forbid anyone should call there with a concern about their water bill! I guess they feel like they don't have any competition, so they don't have to be nice.